


Dennis Does NOT Miss Mac

by kitanthony



Category: It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia
Genre: F/M, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-03-18
Updated: 2014-03-18
Packaged: 2018-01-16 04:22:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,265
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1331743
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kitanthony/pseuds/kitanthony
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It’s not like he and Mac were in a committed relationship or anything. Yes, they slept together sometimes. And maybe occasionally Mac would try to kiss Dennis and even more rarely Dennis would let him. But everything else was the same and they never talked about it or established any labels or ground rules. So Dennis was completely in the right to bed this hot brunette while Mac was elsewhere for the weekend.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Dennis Does NOT Miss Mac

Dennis watched Mac haphazardly shove a couple of shirts and pairs of pants into a duffel bag and sling it over his shoulder. There was a problem at the Kelly household, and Charlie and Mac were going to see if they could diffuse whatever situation may have sparked between their moms. Part of that plan required them to stay a night or two in Charlie’s childhood home with the women, to be sure everything went smoothly.

“There’s some leftovers in the fridge,” Mac said. He’d been talking almost nonstop since he woke up that morning knowing it was the last breakfast he’d have with Dennis until possibly the next week.

“Mac, I’ll be fine,” Dennis assured him. “It’s not like you’re even leaving the city. The Kelly house is, what, a 15-minute drive from here?”

“I know, but we still won’t see each other because Charlie and I will be so busy with our moms, so I might as well be a state away!” Mac ran a hand through his hair in frustration and replaced one of the shirts in his bag for one that Dennis personally thought was worse but kept his opinion to himself about it.

“Well then don’t go,” Dennis stated simply. “They’re grown women who have somehow managed not to murder each other so far, I’m sure this is nothing worse than a little disagreement that they can work out for themselves.”

“No, no.” Mac shook his head resolutely. “My mom sounded pretty upset on the phone.”

Dennis wanted to make a comment about how his mom rarely sounds anything other than generally disgruntled with everything in the world, but he knew Mac was touchy about his mom so he restrained himself. Instead he’d tell Dee later. She would probably laugh. “Alright, then go already. I’ll watch the apartment while you’re gone, and promise to check in with you and everything will be fine. Go deal with your mom and don’t worry about me.”

Mac took a deep breath. “Okay. Okay. I’m going.” He led the way to the front door, where he paused and looked warily at Dennis. “Are you sure you’ll be alright while I’m gone?”

“Yes!” Dennis practically shouted. “Jeez, dude, come on.” He waved a hand nonchalantly. “I won’t even hardly notice you’re gone.”

A brief look of hurt passed across Mac’s face but then he just nodded and leaned in to give Dennis a brief kiss. “See you in a couple days, then.”

Dennis blinked at the closed door then turned away from it and said resolutely to the empty apartment, “I will not miss him.”

-

It was only two nights. Mac checked in every hour or so by text. Even so, Dennis was bored. He was bored as shit. He refused to say he missed Mac, because he didn’t, but maybe it could be that he possibly missed having company, of which Mac happened to be his main source. Perhaps. There just wasn’t anyone else to hang out with since Mac was gone. Dee wouldn’t answer the door no matter how many times Dennis knocked or how loud he’d shouted. Eventually he’d been forced to leave before a neighbor called the cops or the landlord, and he wasn’t sure which he wanted to avoid more (probably the landlord, that guy was a real creep).

So Dennis sat in his apartment and stared at a picture of him and Mac (and the part of Sweet Dee they hadn’t been able to crop out), which they had taken together just before Dennis had gone off to college. It was the first time they’d separated for longer than a week since they’d met, and also when Mac had first started the habit of making Dennis check in with him. Mac’s excuse was that college was a dangerous place and who knew what could happen to Dennis without his best friend there to (ward off potential friends) protect him from potential threats? After a while, what had started as a daily “I’m still alive but probably wasted” message on Mac's answering machine, gradually turned into a mandatory message after each class and before meals. One day, Dennis had been so hung over from a party that he’d slept in, and woke up to Mac hovering over him threatening to douse him with water if Dennis didn’t answer him.

“What the hell? Mac??” Dennis had grumbled out once he’d been able to open his eyes without feeling like they were on fire. “What are you doing here?”

“I was worried sick, dude!” Mac shouted.

Dennis hissed and covered his head with his pillow. “Quiet down, will you?” he moaned pitifully.

Mac made an annoyed sound in the back of his throat but leaned closer to Dennis and whispered, “I didn’t hear from you and it’s been like hours since you usually complain to me about the shitty coffee your roommate makes or something, so I came to make sure you were okay.”

Across the room, Dennis’ roommate raised an eyebrow but didn’t say anything.

“I’m not feeling great, Mac.” Dennis slowly removed the pillow. “I was sleeping it off. Jeez, you act like I disappeared off the face of the earth. All I did was stay in bed for a couple extra hours.”

“Well how was I supposed to know that?” Mac sniffed. “You need a shower, bro. Bad.”

Dennis rolled his eyes. “Like I don’t know that.” He scratched his head and yawned. “Look, is there something you need? ‘Cause if not, get the hell out. You can’t just come around campus whenever you feel like it. Especially over something so stupid as this.”

Mac pouted. “I only wanted to be sure nothing had happened to you.” He stood up from where he’d been kneeling by Dennis’ bed. “But sure, I’ll go. Guess you don’t need me here, now that you’re a hotshot college boy…” He left before Dennis could reply.

It had only taken a day of apologizing for Mac to forgive Dennis and allow things to carry on between them like normal, but Dennis’ roommate wouldn’t stop teasing him for months.

Dennis emerged from his memories to find himself tracing the younger Mac’s picture with his fingertip, following down the line of his arm where it was slung around a young Dennis’ shoulders. With a sigh, Dennis tossed the picture frame onto the table nearby and finished off his beer. He refused to sit around and mope just because his…whatever Mac was to him now…was gone. He’s a grown man. He can take it. He’ll get out of the apartment and go for a drink. He’ll pick up some chick to bang. Before he knows it, Mac will be back and everything will be normal again.

-

The woman was a slim brunette, slight but muscular under Dennis’ hands. It had been about a month since he’d been with a girl, since he and Mac started sleeping together on occasion. Every time Dennis had started flirting with anyone after that, Mac would kick him in the shins and shout at him later when they were alone in their apartment again. Dennis didn’t get it. It’s not like he and Mac were in a committed relationship or anything. Yes, they slept together sometimes. And maybe occasionally Mac would try to kiss Dennis and even more rarely Dennis would let him. But everything else was the same and they never talked about it or established any labels or ground rules. So Dennis was completely in the right to bed this hot brunette while Mac was elsewhere for the weekend. She had really nice legs, but her arms had been what first caught Dennis’ attention. They were strong and capable arms, with ink swirling up towards her shoulders, visible thanks to the sleeveless shirt she was wearing. She wasn’t really Dennis’ usual type, but honestly a guy could only bang so many busty blondes before he started getting déjà vu.

There was a pleasant sigh of Dennis’ name.

Dennis recalled a name and murmured it back.

The hands on Dennis’ back faltered movement. “What?”

“’What’ what? Don’t stop.”

“What’d you say just now?” the brunette asked, sounding wary.

Dennis pulled away and blinked at her. “Uh…” Shit, he couldn’t remember her name. Did he guess wrong? What was it? He thought for a moment but found he had no idea. So what name had he said earlier?

The brunette tilted her head slightly. “It sounded like you said—“

“You should probably go,” Dennis blurted.

“Huh? No, I was just…what’s going on?” She frowned.

It’s all wrong, Dennis thought numbly. Suddenly everything about her was wrong. Her eyes weren’t right, her hair was too wavy, her tattoos too bright and colorful. He leaned off her and stepped away until his back hit his dresser. What was wrong, though? He couldn’t figure it out. Why was she still here? He wished she would leave already. “Just go.” He nodded vaguely towards the door. “Now.”

Offended and confused, she yanked her jeans back on and stormed away without a second glance.

Dennis turned and sat on the edge of his bed, staring at the wall until he could gather his thoughts enough to change into his sleepwear and leave his room to get one last beer before going to sleep.

-

The next day, Dennis went through the motions of his day in a sort of daze, still puzzling over what the hell had happened to him the previous night. He was halfway through a slice of delivery pizza he’d gotten for lunch when he remembered his tapes. There would be one from last night! He could watch the whole thing for himself and see exactly where things started going downhill. Maybe something was wrong with him. Not that he ever got sick, because he was obviously immune to that kind of shit, but what if there was something he hadn’t encountered before that he only started feeling the effects of recently? After briefly worrying what this might mean for him and his sex life, he wiped his hands on a napkin and headed into his room to get the tape. Quickly labeling it with a few question marks, the name of the bar he’d met the brunette in, and the date, he popped the tape into the VCR player in his bedroom’s TV and sat down to watch.

Seeing her again after everything that had happened, Dennis had no idea how he could ever have let a fine specimen such as this brunette to slip through his fingers. He must not have been in his right mind. She was totally gorgeous, with her toned arms and brown hair pulled back with a hair tie. From this angle, she almost looked like she could be related to… He supposed he could fast-forward through the preamble.

A few minutes later, Dennis recognized he was getting close to the moment everything changed and he kicked the chick out instead of entering her like he’d planned. He hit ‘play’, turned up the volume and leaned towards the screen, watching more intensely than he usually did with his tapes where sex actually happened.

“Dennis,” the brunette onscreen sighed out.

This was where Dennis guessed her name wrong and things got weird. However things got even weirder than Dennis had expected. The Dennis on the tape mumbled a name so far off the mark he was aiming for, he had to rewind and play it again at maximum volume just to make sure he’d heard right. But he had. “Mac.” What the fuck? Mac? Mac?!!

“Heyoo, Dennis!” Mac called from the other room. “I’m back!” Oh shit.

Dennis, panicked, ejected the tape and shoved it in his drawer. He left the safety of his room to brave facing his newly returned roommate. “Hey, Mac.” God he hoped he seemed fine and normal.

“There you are! Hey, you okay?” Apparently, no such luck.

“Of course!” Dennis flapped his hand at Mac. “You just surprised me.” He changed the subject. “How’d it go with your moms?”

Mac groaned. “Ugh, dude, I really don’t want to talk about it.”

“Oh. Alright then.”

“Charlie was a complete nutcase!” Mac threw his hands in the air and started ranting about everything that had happened since he went over to Mrs. Kelly’s house, leaving no detail out.

Dennis half-listened, nodding when needed and making occasional snide remarks about one thing or another. The only parts of the story he really cared about were that Mrs. Mac and Mrs. Kelly had worked their problems out, but Mac and Charlie were still frustrated with each other. Still, Dennis let Mac talk himself into exhaustion while they finished his pizza together.

After a while, Mac started dozing off on his shoulder. Glancing over at Mac, Dennis realized how much better this felt than almost banging that strange brunette. Mac’s body pressed to his side. Mac was a constant presence that, rather than dragging him down, anchored him in place. Kept him from drifting and being sucked into dangerous currents that would tear Dennis apart. It felt good. So he shoved Mac away and grumbled, “Quit drooling on me, moron.”

-

Later Dennis would remove and destroy the tape marked with three question marks, the name of a bar he’d avoid as long as he could, and the date after his best friend/blood brother/roommate left and before his best friend/blood brother/roommate/possible-term-of-commitment-and-endearment returned. Still, only in the privacy of his own mind would Dennis admit that he might have missed Mac. Just a little.


End file.
